Mayer succeeds Eaton as world decathlon champion

France's Kevin Mayer on Saturday became the first man other than the now-retired Ashton Eaton to win a global decathlon event since 2011 when he claimed gold in the world championships.

Olympic silver medallist Mayer amassed a total of 8,768 points from the 10 disciplines in the gruelling two-day event.

Germany's Rico Freimuth took silver with 8,564 while teammate Kai Kazmirek claimed bronze (8,488).

"I am so, so tired," the 25-year-old Mayer said.

"I just wanted to say you are the most amazing public in the world and I thank you for that," he said in an address to the sell-out 60,000-seater London Stadium.

Mayer clocked a third personal record of his campaign, with 13.75 seconds in the day's opening 110m hurdles.

After managing a best of 47.14 metres in the discus, the Frenchman suffered a scare in the pole vault when he needed three attempts to go over 5.10m.

Source: AFP

That left him on 7,237 points, ahead of Freimuth (7,121) and Kazmirek (7,021) with just the javelin and 1500m remaining.

Mayer made no mistake with the javelin, throwing a best of 66.10m, before clocking a safe 4:36.73 around the strength-sapping 1500m, the final event.

On Friday, Mayer timed 10.70sec in the 100m, managed 7.52m in the long jump, threw a season's best shot put of 15.72m and registered 2.08m in the high jump before clocking a personal best of 48.26sec in the opening day's closing event, the 400m.

Two potential medal contenders crashed out in the fourth heat of Saturday's hurdles.

First, the USA's former two-time world champion Trey Hardee went down hard before Russian Ilya Shkurenyev, competing as a neutral, pulled up clutching his hamstring after the penultimate flight of barriers.